Audio Aero Capitole - 6021W subminiature tube ??

Sorlowski- Have you checked to see that the pin-out on the balanced output on the AA is the same as the pin-in on the Claytons? There are some products out there with a non-standard configuration for the XLR connectors.

That is an interesting thought. Is it not normalized, especially that both Clayton and AA cap are products designed for US market. US How do I check that ?

How do I check that ?

If you have a multimeter, check for continuity between xlr pin 1 and the ground sleeve of an rca connector. Otherwise check with the manufacturers.

However, the most common inconsistency in xlr pinouts is that the signals on pins 2 and 3 are interchanged, which would not affect hiss levels. It would just invert polarity, sometimes referred to as "absolute phase," which would have minor or negligible effects on many or most recordings.

Also, check that continuity does NOT exist between pin 2 and ground, and between pin 3 and ground. A near zero resistance between one of those pins and ground would indicate that the unit does not drive the xlr connector with a differential pair of signals. I would be very surprised if that were the case, but if it were it would go a long way toward explaining the hiss.

Regards,
-- Al

I suspect that the polarity and pin set-up between the two is NOT the issue. Do a search on invert in the preamp/amp section and you will see from some pretty knowledgeable people (amp designers, etc. . .) that such an issue is not going to cause this problem.

I think you can immediately narrow down the problem to one of three causes:

1: the least likely cause is that you balanced cables are defective. Use, borrow or buy (even a cheap one at a local musical instrument store) and try the new one and see if the noise goes away.
2: there is an issue with the power amps' balanced input handling of that signal internally in the amp (this can easily be tested by an RCA to XLR plug, running the RCA from your Capitole to the balanced in of your amp to see if you are still getting the white noise).
3: there is an issue with the balanced outputs of the Capitole (you can determine this by buying or borrowing an adapter so you run the XLR balanced cable out from the Capitole into the single ended inputs on the amp and to see if you still have the white noise). I suspect this is going to be your problem. Why? Because the Capitole CD players are known for failing or breaking down. They are musically great sounding, but they are made in France!

I have done tests with multimeter, happens that I have Fluke, so I could get pretty exact measurements.

>check for continuity between xlr pin 1 and the ground sleeve of an rca connector

there is continuity 0.14ohm which is 0 for my Fluke.

AA Cap
RCA - 0,52 ohm
XLR - pin 1,2 0,45ohm
XLR - pin 1,3 0,57ohm
XLR - pin 2,3 0,83ohm

I was surprised how low output resistance of this CDP is.

Clayton
RCA - infinity
XLR - pin 1,2 0,85ohm
XLR - pin 1,3 infinity
XLR - pin 2,3 infinity

So it seems like Clayton is not a balanced amp, he is is the culprit, am I right ?